See the Blood Red Moon During Tuesday's Lunar Eclipse

Hear the full interview with Richard Bell and Mike Sinclair of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

Early Tuesday morning the full moon will move into the Earth’s shadow.

Best Time to View It and What You’ll See

Mike Sinclair of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society says the best time to see this is about 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Tuesday. Around these times, the moon will be fully in the Earth’s shadow, displaying a unique color.

“Generally the moon in a full moon situation looks very bright white, hard to look at directly,” says Sinclair. “But once it gets in the Earth’s shadow, it kind of turns the color of a dark copper or kind of a blood red. So it really has a distinctive color because of the refraction of sunlight around the Earth’s atmosphere.”

No Equipment Needed

Because this is a lunar eclipse, you aren’t looking at the sun, so Sinclair says there’s no need for protective eye wear. Looking directly at the sun during a solar eclipse can do serious damage to your eyes.

A Series of Lunar Eclipses

Richard Bell, president of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society says this will be the first total lunar eclipse in a series of eclipses.

There will be another one in October of this year and then two more in 2015—one in April and one in September. Bell says humans haven't seen this many eclipses this close together in about 400 years.

Where to View It

The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society will be holding a public watch party at the Kalamazoo Nature Center starting at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday.